Each year businesses are confronted with a variety of events that risk damaging their value proposition. For example, natural disasters such as hurricanes and floods damage stores, interrupt supply chains and alter the short-term inventory needs. In some cases, a store cannot open or supply the required inventory of merchandise. In other cases, the existing supply of inventory cannot be replenished at a rate to satisfy consumer response to the natural hazard. Often, the demands of the consumer change in response to the hazard. For example, a short term need for generators and other emergency supplies could replace a previous need for perishable items. In a network of stores, the balance of inventory across the network would also change to meet the needs of a local store impacted by the hazard.
Business continuity and the ability to provide humanitarian support to those affected by the natural hazard require an objective assessment of the risk to a store based on previous patterns. A need exists for a method to provide guidance to minimize the loss in value of the business enterprise.